Montez Sweat listed as candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year

Montez Sweat listed as candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year

Montez Sweat has gotten a lot of hype from the Washington Redskins this offseason, which is understandable considering that they traded back into the 1st round of the 2019 NFL draft to steal him late in the round.

Now, the league is starting to build anticpation around Sweat, highlighted by his name being mentioned in NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award watch list.

Sweat — who was picked at No. 26 after health concerns caused him to drop out of the top 10 — is said to have maturity issues that could show themselves in his rookie year, according to Zierlein.

“A day before the 2019 NFL draft, I had an executive from an NFL team tell me he was concerned about Sweat’s maturity level and believed that his rookie season would be a huge indicator for the type of career he was going to have,” Zierlein said.

“What I do know is that Sweat’s rare length and athletic traits are the stuff that dreams are made of for defensive-line coaches, and it is impossible to ignore the No. 26 overall pick’s eye-popping production as a sack artist (22.5 sacks in his last two college seasons) and against the run.”

The Redskins seem to be thrilled with the produciton and ability showed by the rookie so far this offseason, so it will be interesting to see how everything plays out once the 2019 season comes around.